Lawinenlagebericht

East Cabinet Mountains

Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center
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Lawinengefahr

Sat
Hochgebirge
2 · Mässig
Waldgrenze
2 · Mässig
Unterhalb
1 · Gering
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Kernpunkte

The snowpack across the Kootenai is generally stable; however, two potential avalanche issues exist today. Small avalanches at the surface of the snowpack will be likely as loose dry snow will slough easily in very steep terrain. A winter storm will enter the area this morning and create the potential for storm slabs to develop by the afternoon. As the day progresses pay close attention to changing conditions in the surface of the snowpack and move to lower angled slopes if you see signs of slab development in the snowpack surface.

Lawinenprobleme

  • Loose Dry

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Likely
    Größe
    1

    Very light and cold snow is present at the snowpack surface and moves easily in steep terrain. On Thursday we witnessed very small "loose-dry" avalanches releasing in terrain steeper than 40 degrees. These small avalanches are not as dangerous as a slab avalanche, but the potential to lose control in "extreme terrain" or steep chutes is there, and should be assessed before committing to ride in such locations. The potential of this problem will build through the day as additional snow falls on Friday.

  • Storm Slabs

    • Hochgebirge
    • Waldgrenze
    • Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
    Wahrscheinlichkeit
    Possible
    Größe
    1–2

    A "potent" winter storm is entering the area today. Upper elevations across the Kootenai are predicted to recieve 8-12" of snow today. This storm is coming in cold and light which will initially prevent the likelihood of developing slabs early in the day. By afternoon the snow is predicted to become denser, which will create a more cohesive layer in the surface of our snowpack. This combined with gusty and variable winds will create a storm slab issue by Friday afternoon and into Saturday.  Currently stable conditions will deteriorate by afternoon, pay attention to this issue and adjust your terrain choices to less consequential slopes as the day progresses.

Avalanche Discussion

During the past week we have toured into the Southern Purcells and the East Cabinets. Snowpack conditions have been quite stable this week with the primary concern being the small and loose snow avalanches that release easily in steep terrain. During our travels we paid close attention to this issue when moving through steep areas with cliff bands and consequential runouts below. The deeper weak layer we have been referring to as the "Lucky Friday Crust" has not shown any potential in the past 10 days and we are removing it from our list of concerning avalanche problems. This layer has been producing avalanches in the Flathead and British Columbia recently. I don't see it as a concern in our zone unless we see a major snow loading event or rapid warm-up and rain. 

The big question today will be the winter storm. Weather forecast confidence is high regarding our area seeing 8-12" of snow. The variables of timing and snow density will play heavily into whether we develop slabs at the surface of the snowpack and how reactive the slabs may become. The "what-if scenarios" may be hard to pin down, but slab development will be easy to spot and easy to manage by paying attention to the surface of the snow and moving to lower angled slopes in the timber as slabs develop.

 

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